Some Of The Challenges That Make Mobile Apps Fail

This article outlines some of the challenges encountered by all mobile app development companies and how to solve the problems.

They have to create apps that people want

The first major challenge is that they can’t just develop any app that they like. They have to create apps that people will embrace. This is important because there are so many apps on app stores that people just don’t need.

The best way around this challenge is to conduct a market survey. In fact, some highly successful mobile app development companies conduct multiple market surveys at different stages of the development of their app just to get it right. You need to find out what gap needs you want your app to bridge. It is also necessary to find out if the need is a need that people will download your app for.

Saturated market

Mobile app development companies also face a saturated market. There is virtually no app need that has not been filled by one app or the other. Right now, there are more than 6.5 million apps on over 300 app stores worldwide and more are still being developed. In other words, mobile app development companies face fierce competition. And that is why app users have become very picky. They have numerous options. As more apps are launched, the chances of success of every mobile app keep decreasing and the competition becomes even fiercer.

Fragmented market

In terms of marketing, it is not possible to get across to all the target audience at the same time as they are scattered. You can’t get a single unit of audience. Your best bet is to do a proper research on how best to reach your target audience. For instance, if your target markets are the millennials, your best bet is to reach them through social media.

Software fragmentation

There are several models and brands of mobile devices, there are 3 to 4 major operating systems (Windows, RIM, Android, and iOS), devices are available in different screen sizes, and each of these devices have different types of applications running on them. For these reasons, mobile apps perform differently on different devices. The best way to tackle this challenge is to test your app on as many mobile devices as possible even though it is not possible for you to lay hands on all existing mobile devices. At least, if your app can work well in more than 70 percent devices, you are good to go.

Mobile apps have to be simple

App users want simplicity and ease of use so you need to make your app very simple to use. At the same time, you also need to add numerous functions. As you add more functions to your app to impress users, you will be drifting away from simplicity gradually. Besides, being a mobile app developer, what is simple to you may not be simple to other users.

So, the major challenge lies in striking a balance between simplicity and numerous functionalities.

Keeping it compact

It is also important to keep your mobile app as small as possible since large apps turn users off. It will require a lot of mobile data to download a large app. Besides, large apps will take up large memory space. You need to understand that users usually have inadequate memory space for all the apps they need so they have to make judicious use of their storage space. This is why they avoid large apps. So, the challenge is how to make your app as small as possible yet include numerous functions.

While the function of your app may be clear to you, it may not be clear to most users. So, you may need to get the app tested by different categories of users before you launch it. The recommendations and reports of the testers should guide on how users will see the app. The problem here is that you need to keep updating your app and the app becomes bigger with every update.

You must update your app to retain users and updates make your app bigger and this may eventually turn users off. So, how do you walk the tightrope of updating your app and keeping the size small? This is why it is a big challenge.

Regular upgrade is a challenge

Android recently upgraded to Android 8 Oreo while Apple upgraded its operating system to iOS 11. In addition, iOS 12 will soon be released. So, the problem is that each upgrade affects the performance of several mobile apps. So, as a mobile app developer, you need to monitor the performance of your app after each upgrade. And if you find any issues involved, you can fix it.

Regular update

Mobile app development companies do not find it encouraging that several apps are dumped after only one use. This is why number of downloads is usually a multiple of number of active users at any given time. Unfortunately, the only way to prevent this is to continuously engage current users on possible ways to improve user experience on your app.

It is not enough to just seek feedback, you have to back it up by also releasing updates regularly. The only time you stop updating an app is when you have decided to retire it.

Getting funds

App development is regarded as a very risky venture because of the ridiculously low success rate of apps. Investors shy away from putting their money into app development. As a matter of fact, you can’t blame them. The current success rate of mobile apps is less than 1 percent. Who will invest in a business that has only 1 percent success rate? So, getting funds is also a major challenge. The best way around it is to find collateral to take an app development loan.

In conclusion, the success of your app depends on how you are able to walk around all the challenges outlined above. So, you should be able to find a way around each of them.

About The Author

Kenneth Evans is a Content Marketing Strategist for Top App Development Companies, a research platform for app development companies in USA, UK, India, UAE, Australia and around the world. He has been contributing to various blogging platforms and Forums.

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